Impact of archives on the UK economy

You asked

1. With reference to the categories in the SIC 2007 , does ONS provide the data for sub-categories, for example, 91.01 Library and Archive Activities? I would like to have all data under section 91

2. According to the CEBR report The contribution of the arts and culture to the national economy (see p10), the section R91.01 library and archive activities includes only the British Library. Could you confirm this? In addition, is The National Archives included in the tables anywhere?

3. With reference to the data gathered for section R91 in the most recent study, were there any subsequent interviews or further enquiries after the survey, to gain more understanding of particular industries?

4. What was the methodology used to construct the input-output tables? For example, does it follow the approach described in the paper, Mahajan, S. (2006) ‘Development, Compilation and Use of Input-Output Supply and Use Tables in the UK National Accounts’, Economic Trends, 634, pp. 28–46?

5. With reference to section R91, can you give me examples of the products that were supplied in responses to your survey? For example Waste Collection, Treatment and Disposal Activities; Material Recovery put a £12 million worth demand on Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural services (see tab table 2 – Int Con 2012 in bb14webtables106tables14final_tcm77-382848.xls). What criteria were used in selecting these products?

6. As shown in the interindustry’s consumption data sheet of 2012, published in 2014 (see tab table 2 – Int Con 2012 in bb14webtables106tables14final_tcm77-382848.xls), is it possible to specify the actual fraction of each industry that gains value from sector R91, in particular R91.01?

7. Many cultural heritage institutions, for example the Victoria and Albert Museum, whilst they fall primarily within one category, often contain functions that would fit in other categories (e.g., the V&A Archive). Do you distinguish these functions within your survey, and if so, what method do you use to do so?

8. Can you please supply a copy of the questionnaire used in the Annual Business Survey (ABS) for further analysis, as this will help me conduct any ad-hoc regional studies in a compatible way

We said

1. No. The data published in the detailed Input-Output Supply and Use tables are provided at the lowest level available on a National Accounts basis

2. The ONS does not provide information on particular businesses or individuals in accordance with rules on disclosure. Additionally disclosure of personal information, including that of a body corporate, is exempt under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act . However, the ONS Annual Business Survey (ABS), which is the main source of information underlying ONS estimates of annual production in the National Accounts, reports that there are several hundred respondents classified under SIC 91.01. Details of the SIC industry classifications of individual businesses are provided free-of-charge by Companies House

3. All responses to the ABS go through a rigorous quality assurance process, which may include follow-up calls to query responses provided or to chase up missing responses. As noted above, we do not provide any information on particular business or individuals in accordance with rules on disclosure

4. Yes, though the tables are now produced on NACE rev.2-consistent SIC 2007 / CPA 2008 bases, which have been the industry and product classifications used in the UK National Accounts since 2011

5. The allocation of industries’ intermediate demand to CPA 2008 product groups uses a combination of purchases information from the Annual Business Survey, product patterns from the old Purchases Inquiry, and manual balancing adjustments. These manual adjustments are carried out to incorporate any further economic information we have and to ensure that industry inputs and outputs, as well as product supply and demand, are balanced

6. No, because value-added by industry on the production measure is calculated by subtracting intermediate consumption from output; it isn’t possible to tell from the Input-Output Supply and Use tables how much each individual product used up during the production process contributes to the value of output of the final product(s) made by that industry and its value-added

7. We can only comment in general. The ABS, which provides the bulk of production information for the UK economy, uses the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) as its sampling frame. ABS forms are sent to reporting units, which may form the entire enterprise or, for larger businesses, distinct local units. Please see p. 22 of the ABS Technical Report for further details

8. Samples of the short- and long-form ABS questionnaires can be found on their web page